A new scanner used to detect and measure scarring on the liver has been installed at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.
The Fibroscan cost around £120,000 and was funded by voluntary organisation the Inverclyde League of Hospital Friends, which runs the IRH’s Helen Wyllie Tea Bar.
It is now operational in the hospital’s Hepatology and Gastroenterology Department, and is being used to help diagnose and monitor patients’ liver conditions.
The equipment allows patients in Inverclyde to undergo these vital tests closer to home, rather than having to travel further afield.
The League of Hospital Friends has raised an amazing total of more than £2 million to support the hospital since it was founded in 1972.
Its volunteers operate the Helen Wyllie Tea Bar at the IRH seven days a week, with the proceeds regularly being reinvested in the hospital.
Between August 2023 and June this year, it funded £200,000 worth of projects including ultrasound technology for the Medical Assessment Unit, several defibrillators for different parts of the hospital, patient trolleys with specialist mattresses, and equipment to enable an expansion of the Emergency Department and to monitor and observe patients.
Louise Watson, Site Lead for the IRH, said: “This Fibroscan equipment is the latest in a long list of projects funded by the League of Hospital Friends and we are so grateful to them for their amazing support.
“Not only do they regularly invest in and fund equipment for the IRH, their volunteers also run the Helen Wyllie Tea Bar seven days a week, which we know is much loved by patients, visitors and staff.
“Having the Fibroscan equipment at the IRH means that patients can have these vital scans closer to home, without the need to travel further afield.”
Peter Hempsey, chair of the League of Hospital Friends said: “The Tea Bar is staffed entirely by volunteers and we are delighted to be able to assist patient care within IRH by funding a wide variety of bids for items of equipment, some small such as a few chairs or TVs for wards, or much larger items such as the scanner which is now in use and improving outcomes for patients.
“It has also given a real boost to the morale of staff in the Hepatology Department.”
Mary McKnight, the Tea Bar Convener, said: “The weekly turnover at the Tea Bar is now over £7,000 and heading towards £8,000.
“Our volunteers are so pleased to be able to see the benefits to patient care at Inverclyde Royal Hospital which their efforts produce through the funding of important items of equipment.”
